Nancy Welch’s teenage son, Joseph, had a persistant, violent cough that caused his mother to carry a phone around in case she needed to dial 9-1-1. He’d been diagnosed and treated for asthma, but his cough did not go away. His doctor recommended Joseph be taken to the emergency room at Inova Alexandria Hospital and he was seen by Lynette Sandoval, PA. After she heard a recording his mother made of the cough, she suspected whooping cough, a once common childhood disease that has seen a dramatic resurgence in the past few years.